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Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Dec. 15

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED DEC 14, 2019

Christmas camellias are now in full bloom. Pick some for a winter bouquet. (Photo: Debbie Arrington)

Make the most of soft soil on dry days

What drought? Recent rain has refreshed our gardens and our water reserves.

After speculation in November that we were heading for a dry winter, the storms washed away any mention of the “D” word.

According to the National Weather Service , Sacramento has received more than 3.55 inches so far in December. That increased our seasonal total since Oct. 1 to 4.26 inches – normal for this time period.

By comparison, last season to date was 3.14 inches.

Make the most of soft soil during dry days to get things done:

* Pick a winter bouquet to enjoy indoors. Christmas camellias are enjoying this weather and are now in full bloom.

* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while they're dormant.

* Rake and remove dead leaves and stems from dormant perennials.

* Plant cool-season annuals such as calendulas, Iceland poppies, pansies and primroses.

* Plant bare-root berries, kiwifruit, grapes, artichokes, horseradish and rhubarb. Beware of soggy soil. It can rot bare-root plants.

* Just because it rained doesn't mean every plant got watered. Give a drink to plants that the rain didn't reach.

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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3

November still offers good weather for fall planting:

* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.

* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.

* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.

* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.

* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.

* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.

* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.

* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.

* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.

* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.

* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.

* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.

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